← Nouns Cooking · Mexican

Ingredients

• 500 g Strong bread flour
• 150 g Sugar
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast (1 sachet)
• ½ tsp Salt
• 60 ml lukewarm milk
• 60 ml Orange juice
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 orange, zest finely grated
• 1 tsp orange blossom water (or vanilla)
• 140 g unsalted butter, very soft, in pieces
• 50 g unsalted butter, melted
• 100 g sugar, for coating

Method

1. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the milk, orange juice, eggs, zest and orange blossom water and knead with the dough hook on medium-low for 10 min, until smooth and elastic.
2. Add the soft butter a piece at a time, kneading until each is absorbed, then knead for 5–8 min more, until the dough is silky and pulls cleanly from the bowl.
3. Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for 2 hours, until doubled in size.
4. Knock back and cut off a fifth of the dough for decorations. Divide the rest into 6 pieces and shape into smooth, tight balls on a lined tray. Roll the reserved dough into thin ropes with knobbly bumps for bones, lay two across each bun and top with a small ball.
5. Cover loosely and leave to rise for 1 hour, until puffy. Meanwhile heat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
6. Bake for 18–22 min, until deep golden and hollow-sounding underneath. While still warm, brush generously with melted butter and roll or sprinkle with sugar. Cool on a rack.

Tips

• If kneading by hand, expect 15–20 min of work; the dough is sticky until the butter is fully worked in.
• A pinch of ground anise seed in the dough gives the traditional aroma of many regional versions.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Mexican Food Journal Maricruz Avalos My Latina Table